[Nfbf-l] The Presidents Disability Budget Fact Sheet

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THE FEDERAL BUDGET  
FISCAL YEAR 2012   
Winning  the Future for People with Disabilities  
Having  emerged from the worst recession in generations, the President has 
put forward a  plan to rebuild our economy and win the future by 
out-innovating, out-educating,  and out-building our global competitors and creating 
the jobs and industries of  tomorrow. But we cannot rebuild our economy and 
win the future if we pass on a  mountain of debt to our children and 
grandchildren. We must restore fiscal  responsibility, and reform our government to 
make it more effective, efficient,  and open to the American people. The 
President’s 2012 Budget is a responsible  approach that puts the nation on a 
path to live within our means so we can  invest in our future – by cutting 
wasteful spending and making tough choices on  some things we cannot afford, 
while keeping the investments we need to grow the  economy and create jobs. It 
targets scarce federal resources to the areas  critical to winning the 
future: education, innovation, clean energy, and  infrastructure. And it proposes 
to reform how Washington does business, putting more federal  funding up 
for competition, cutting waste, and reorganizing government so that  it better 
serves the American people.  
To  win the future for people with disabilities, the Budget will:   
Increase  Funding for the Education of Children with Disabilities. The  
Budget provides a $200 million increase for the Individuals with Disabilities  
Education Act (IDEA) State Grants to provide a high quality education and 
help  offset State and local education costs for children with disabilities. 
The  Budget also provides a $50 million (11 percent) increase for the IDEA 
Infants  and Families Program to provide the youngest children a good start. 
In addition,  a new $30 million joint pilot, Promoting Readiness of Minors in 
SSI (PROMISE),  will develop and evaluate innovative approaches to 
improving outcomes of  children receiving Supplemental Security Income and their 
families.   
Encourage  Workforce Innovation. The  Budget provides almost $380 million 
to the Departments of Education and Labor,  for a Workforce Innovation Fund 
to support reforms of the workforce system,  including projects that improve 
education and employment outcomes for  individuals with disabilities. The 
Vocational Rehabilitation program will  contribute $30 million, and use its 
expertise to help ensure that the Fund  invests in innovative programs and 
evidence-based practices to provide  high-quality employment services to 
individuals with disabilities, including  those with significant disabilities.  
Support  Workers with Disabilities. The  Budget provides $24 million to the 
Department of Labor for the Disability  Employment Initiative, which awards 
grants to build the capacity of One-Stop  Career Centers to serve 
individuals with disabilities. The Budget also proposes  a new Disability Insurance 
Work Incentives Simplification Pilot to make the  Social Security work rules 
more straightforward and allow beneficiaries more  flexibility to try to 
work without fear of losing their benefits.   
Reduce  Social Security Claims Backlog. Disability  programs are at the 
forefront of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s)  operations. The 
Budget funds SSA to lower the initial claims backlog to 650,000  by processing 
over three million claims. By hearing approximately 822,500 cases  in 2012, 
the wait time for a decision will fall below a year for the first time  in a 
decade. In addition, the Administration will establish a Disability 
Research Center through SSA’s research office. This  Center will work across 
agencies and in collaboration with outside researchers  to improve the quality of 
disability research.  
Expand  Disability Research. The  Budget provides $120 million for the 
National Institute on Disability and  Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), including 
$10 million to support a new cloud  computing initiative that uses the 
internet infrastructure to improve technology  access through the development, 
implementation, and delivery of mechanisms that  will provide on-demand 
accessibility for everyone who faces technology  accessibility barriers. NIDRR 
conducts comprehensive and coordinated programs of  research and related 
activities to maximize the full inclusion, social  integration, employment, and 
independent living of individuals with disabilities  of all ages.  
Strengthen  Independent Living. The  Budget includes more than $103 million 
for Grants for Independent Living program  that would provide formula 
grants to States to support the provision of  independent living services through 
centers for independent living. The Budget  also provides an additional $34 
million for independent living services for  older individuals who are 
blind. In addition, the President’s six-year, $556  billion surface 
transportation reauthorization proposal supports investments to  provide individuals, 
including the elderly and the disabled, with access to more  transportation 
options, making our communities more livable. That proposal will  include an 
unprecedented funding commitment for transit programs.   
Assist  Programs for Youth with Disabilities. The  2012 Budget maintains 
funding for the Special Olympics at $8 million through the  Department of 
Education. The Budget also provides $5 million for a new program:  Mentoring for 
Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. Both programs would  support 
activities to increase the participation of people with intellectual  
disabilities in social relationships and other aspects of community life,  including 
recreation, education, and employment.  
Strengthen  Anti-Discrimination Enforcement. Even  in tough budget times, 
the substantial investments that have been made by  the Administration to 
strengthen civil rights enforcement against racial,  ethnic, sexual 
orientation, disability, religious, and gender discrimination  continue in the 2012 
Budget. The Budget proposes an increase for the Community  Relations Service in 
the Department of Justice to fight hate crimes and provides  an $18 
million, a 5 percent increase over the 2010 enacted level, for the Equal  
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is responsible for enforcing  Federal 
laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an  
employee. This investment will allow EEOC to add additional staff to reduce 
the  agency’s backlog of private-sector discrimination charges.   
Provide  Housing for Persons with Disabilities. Because  difficult choices 
had to be made in order to invest in programs that would yield  the highest 
returns, the Budget provides a total of $196 million for the Housing  for 
Persons with Disabilities Program, which is a $104 million cut relative to  
the 2010 enacted level. The majority of the overall reduction reflects a shift 
 in funding to the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance account to support 
Mainstream  Vouchers for persons with disabilities. The Budget includes $85 
million to  support existing units and $111 million for new construction and 
expansion  activities. The Administration is committed to working with Congress 
to update  and reform these programs so that project sponsors can maximize 
use of the  funding for new construction by effectively leveraging and 
targeting investments  based on need and by providing residents access to key 
services required to live  independently.  
Expand  Research into Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The  Budget 
continues to expand research, detection, treatment, and other activities  related to 
improving the lives of individuals and families affected by ASD  through 
increasing funding for programs at the National Institutes of Health  (NIH), 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Health Resources  and 
Services Administration. NIH will pursue comprehensive and innovative  
approaches to defining the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to  
ASD, investigate epigenomic changes in the brain, and accelerate clinical 
trials  of novel pharmacological and behavioral interventions by 2016. NIH 
will continue  to investigate environmental factors, early detection, and 
novel treatments to  transform our understanding of ASD.  
Help  Families Care for Aging and Relatives with Disabilities.  The Budget 
includes $96 million for the Administration's Caregiver Initiative,  an 
effort to expand help to families and seniors so that caregivers can better  
manage their multiple responsibilities and seniors can live in the community 
for  as long as possible. Without creating new programs, this initiative 
provides new  resources to support the network of agencies in local communities 
across the  country that already provide critical help to seniors and 
caregivers.   
Support  for Employment of People with Disabilities in the Federal 
Workforce. In  July 2010, the President signed an Executive Order to increase 
Federal  employment of individuals with disabilities and the Budget provides funds 
to the  Office of Personnel Management to implement that Executive Order.   
Expand  Passenger Rail Options. The  President’s surface transportation 
reauthorization proposal includes funding to  eliminate the longstanding ADA 
gap at intercity passenger rail stations.  Overall, the Administration’s 
reauthorization provides $53 billion over six  years for intercity passenger 
rail, putting the country on track toward a system  that gives 80 percent of 
Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years –  and would provide many 
citizens with disabilities access to an additional,  convenient 
transportation option.